SPREADING THE WORD – Part 1 of 2

"So [the shepherds] hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them."  (Luke 2:16–18 NIV) 

Christmas Day has passed. The wrapping paper is gone, the cookies are thinning out, and the world is slowly returning to its routines. But in Luke’s Gospel, the story doesn’t end at the manger. In fact, something begins there -- something that continues long after the angels’ song fades into the night sky.

The shepherds, ordinary men in an ordinary field, became the first evangelists of the New Testament. They didn’t attend a seminar. They didn’t rehearse a testimony. They simply shared what they had seen and heard. Their encounter with Jesus overflowed into proclamation.

And notice the response: “All who heard it were amazed.”  Not because the shepherds were eloquent, but because the message was astonishing. God had come near. Hope had taken on flesh. Salvation had a name. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™  

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